The plastics manufacturing industry has grown at the rate of about 10% a year for each of the last 25 years and now has approximately 250,000 technician-level jobs. Until about ten years ago most of these jobs were "blue collar", requiring little or no technical training. Innovations in processing technology have changed this situation dramatically and there is now a pressing need for technicians and engineers with two (and four) year degrees. There are very few two-year institutions with plastics technology programs and only one, Penn College, is TAC/ABET accredited. The institutions that do have programs (or often just one or two courses) are limited by the absence of instructional materials aimed specifically at technician training. The objective of this project is to tackle these problems through the development of curricular and instructional materials and outreach to other two-year institutions through faculty and teacher development. To accomplish these goals a consortium has been established between Penn College (a predominantly two-year institution), Penn State, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and a number of industrial partners. The project is establishing a "modular" educational approach that emphasizes hands-on training and allows students to progress from high school to two-year and four-year programs. A special effort is being made to reach out to students from underrepresented groups. Because of the lack of programs in this field, this project is having an impact at the national level by helping to establish programs that provide career opportunities for students while satisfying the needs of what is now the fastest growing US manufacturing industry.
